Hazleton proclaims 'Bret Michaels Day'

It will be a big party with no rules, if rock star Bret Michaels gets his way Saturday.

And he should.

Hazleton officials will declare Saturday - the day the Poison frontman will perform at the Wiltsie Center at the Historic Castle - as "Bret Michaels Day."

Michaels' stop is part of his 2012 "Get Your Rock On" tour. And during his 8 p.m. performance, he'll be honored by city officials for his charitable works.

And then Michaels will get down to doing what he does best.

"Of course I do the Poison hits. I also do a bunch of cover stuff I grew up on and material from my solo albums and TV shows like the theme to 'Rock of Love,'" he said in an email to the Standard-Speaker. "It's just a big party with no rules."

His concerts are also a "celebration of life and good times," he said.

"With all I've been through in the last few years, being given the chance to give back with the gift of music is what it's all about," said Michaels, a lifelong diabetic who, in the last several years, has dealt with a brain hemorrhage, emergency appendectomy and a hole in his heart.

"My fans prayed and believed in me so much through my health scares, it's amazing to me how they have been through my 25-year-plus career. The shows are a thank you to them. It's about their smiles, their laughs and their good times. The atmosphere is celebration and rock and roll, always happy to be alive."

Michaels, a reality television star, spokesman, businessman and philanthropist, rose to fame as the lead singer of Poison in the mid-1980s.

With Poison, Michaels recorded eight studio albums, charted 10 top 40 singles and sold more than 30 million records worldwide. Hit singles have included "Talk Dirty to Me," "I Want Action," "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "Nothin' But a Good Time" and "Unskinny Bop."

An early incarnation of the band formed in Mechanicsburg, where Michaels spent his early years.

"Well, I'm fortunate to have fans that are so full of life and enthusiasm. We experience it all over the world. But I love my home state and they know I love them, so the bond is amazing and the energy is great," he said.

And as a solo performer, his most recent album, "Custom Built," reached number one on Billboard's hard rock list in 2010. He continues to tour with Poison, having spent the summer performing at arenas in major cities across the United States.

"I always come through in the fall and tour the smaller venues," he said. "I love to play music and refuse to limit myself to venue size due to restrictions that are supposed to be put on me to justify how big of a star I am. It's the people in the small towns who got me to where I am and they're the reason why I get to play those huge venues in the summer.

"This economy is awful and people can't afford to do much, so it's a big choice to buy those tickets, pay babysitters, pay for gas and sometimes pay for hotels if those bigger venues are long enough drives. So in the fall it's Fan Jam Time and I like to get up close and personal, that's what it's all about."

Michaels has appeared in the "Rock of Love" and "Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It" reality television series on VH1. As the winner of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, he donated his $250,000 prize to diabetes research.

He's currently filming his new reality show, "Rock My RV with Bret Michaels," slated for release on the Travel Channel this spring.

"It's an exciting concept where I trick out people's RVs," Michaels explained. "I have lived my life on tour buses and no one knows more about them than me, from the science of what to do with the space to make it most useful, to just making it look hip and cool. I've designed many buses, so the show is going to be a lot of fun."

A camera crew follows Michaels around the clock for footage and "for anything else that may come up," he said.

It's not the rocker's only project. In the new year, he will release, "Good Songs, Great Friends."

"It's a collaboration with me and all my friends in the music industry. We have Loretta Lynn, Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and Hugh McDonald from Bon Jovi playing on a new version of 'Every Rose (Has Its Thorn).' We have Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd playing on my version of 'Sweet Home Alabama,'" he said.

The album features Ace Frehley, former KISS guitarist; Michael Anthony, who played bass guitar for Van Halen, and rapper Lil Jon.

Tickets for the concert will be available at the door beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and at Ticketmaster outlets. For information, visit www.wiltsiecenter.org or www.facebook.com/wiltsiecenter.

jwhalen@standardspeaker.com, 570-455-3636

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